Bulldogs trail early, dominate Postville

MONONA — MONONA -- Derek Larson and Mason Hertrampf scored two touchdowns each Friday as the MFL MarMac High School football team overcame an early deficit to pick up its first victory of the season, 37-13 over Postville.

The Bulldogs (1-1) rolled up 429 yards of offense while holding Postville to 95 total yards, including negative yards on the ground. Postville drops to 0-2 on the young season.

While pleased with the victory, MFL MarMac coach Tom Oppelt expressed frustration with the way his team played at times.

“We started out a little shaky,” he said. “I think our guys overlooked Postville. I tried to tell them (the Pirates) were better than they have been, but I think we were a little overconfident coming out. Once they realized (Postville) came here to play and they weren’t going to roll over for them, they got serious and got things done.

“We did a lot of good things out here tonight – things that were similar to what we did in Waukon, but we’re not playing the same caliber athletes as we did in Waukon,” Oppelt said.

MFL MarMac’s offense showed great balance, with 288 rushing yards and 143 passing yards. Senior slot back Hertrampf finished with 73 rushing yards and 56 receiving yards, scoring a touchdown each way and Larson finished with 72 yards and a pair of scores. Junior quarterback Zach Trudo threw for 143 yards and a touchdown while junior Dylan Corlett rushed for a team-high 103 yards and a score one week after going out with what appeared at the time to be a serious leg injury.

“(Corlett) told me this morning that he felt strong and he felt good, but I still held him for beginning of the game because it’s not a district game and I want to make sure Dylan’s ready to roll in the district and Mason did an awesome job,” Oppelt said. “Dylan was insistent that his leg was good and he showed it tonight that he wasn’t joking.”

Oppelt said he knew soon after the Waukon game that Corlett’s injury was not as serious as it looked when he went down and that the junior would not miss more than one game.

“It looked worse on the field than it ended up being,” Oppelt said. “Dylan did a good job doing what he needed to do so he could get back as quickly as he did.”

The Bulldogs won despite turning the ball over three times and failing to score three times when they got inside Postville’s 20.

After showing signs of life early in the game, Postville shot itself in the foot time after time in the final three quarters. The Pirates turned the ball over three times, saw four bad shotgun snaps result in nearly 60 negative yards and a safety, and had a long touchdown called back on a penalty. Junior Harrison Dehning was a bright spot for Postville, going all the way at quarterback in place of opening week starter Jacob Steffans, who did not play in the game, and throwing for 142 yards and a touchdown. Senior Owen Jacobson caught five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown while also returning the opening kickoff 81 yards for a score.

The Bulldogs held Postville to minus 47 rushing yards. Only one Postville runner finished with positive yardage.

“I thought our defensive line played great even last week in Waukon, we had three sacks against a great ball club up there, so they just came out tonight and kept playing as hard as they played up there and good things are happening for us,” Oppelt said. “I think that will continue all the way through the district.”

MFL MARMAC ANSWEREDJacobsen’s game-opening kickoff return on its second possession, with a 39-yard pass from Trudo to fellow junior Garrett Keehner setting up Larson’s first score of the night on a five-yard run. Trudo kicked the extra point to tie the score.

Postville countered on its next drive, with Jacobson getting behind the Bulldog defense and catching a 48-yard scoring pass from Dehning for a 13-7 lead that the Pirates would carry into the second quarter. Hertrampf tied the score on a seven-yard touchdown run 45 seconds into the second quarter with Corlett’s conversion rungiving MFL MarMac the lead for good. Corlett made the score 21-13 at halftime with a six-yard touchdown run at the nine-minute mark of the second period. The Bulldogs had two more chances to score in the half, only to turn the ball over on downs at the Pirate 25 and throw an interception at the 30.

It took MFL MarMac just three minutes to add to its lead early in the second half. The Dogs drove to the Postville 34 on five straight running plays when Trudo hit Hertrampf on a quick slant that went all the way to the end zone. A Bulldog safety four minutes later when Postville fell on a loose ball in the end zone made it a 29-13 game. MFL MM’s final touchdown came on a three-yard Larson run in the fourth quarter and a Larson conversion run.

The Bulldogs play at Central Springs (Manly) Friday while Postville visits Edgewood-Colesburg.